Namfisa concludes country’s first cross-border insurance seminar

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Staff Reporter
Windhoek-The Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa), as an associate of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), recently hosted Namibia’s first cross-border insurance regulatory and supervisory regional seminar for delegates across sub-Saharan Africa, jointly organised by the IAIS and the Financial Stability Institute.
The seminar was aimed at cooperation and sharing of supervisory experiences with fellow insurance regulators and other non-banking financial services sectors in the region.
Themed under “Corporate Governance and Risk Management” the curriculum of the seminar was centred on the requirements of insurance core principles (ICPs) and other international best practice principles in respect of enterprise risk management, corporate governance and supervisory intervention tools pertaining to non-banking financial institutions.
Speaking at the closing ceremony Namfisa’s CEO, Kenneth Matomola, said: “Insurance plays a pivotal role in the economic development of any country by offering protection from risks. As you may be aware, insurance is crucial in the promotion of financial stability as it cushions the losses or harms that befall individuals, firms and institutions that participate in the real sector of the economy. Similarly, insurance encourages investment and creation of wealth, and complements government social security programmes.”
“In spite of its roles in the facilitation of trade and commerce, insurance is a counterpart of other sub-sectors of the financial system such as of the capital markets and banking. It against this aforementioned statements that I would like to urge you my fellow regulators to continue to discharge your roles and responsibility with diligence, duty and care for the benefit of the citizenry of sub-Saharan Africa.”
Established in 1994, the IAIS is a voluntary membership organisation of insurance supervisors and regulators from more than 200 jurisdictions, constituting 97 percent of the world’s insurance premiums. Its mission is to promote effective and globally consistent supervision of the insurance industry in order to develop and maintain fair, safe and stable insurance markets for the benefit and protection of policyholders and to contribute to global financial stability.
Applauding Namfisa on the successful seminar, Tendai Karonga, Commissioner of the Zimbabwean Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC), described the seminar “as a step in the right direction in ensuring that regulators are synchronised in terms of ensuring that regulation and supervision are effective.”
Pa Alieu Sillah, Commissioner of the Central Bank of Gambia Insurance and Pension Commission, was content with the seminar, stating: “I am impressed by how the different regulators share lessons learnt and how the experience will improve regulations and supervision.”
New Era Reporter 2017-11-08 09:35:33 1 years ago